RBC | Town of Rangely trustees met Tuesday, July 25 for their regular meeting which mostly consisted of updates from town staff, including town Manager Lisa Piering and Marketing/Economic Development Coordinator Jeannie Caldwell.
MARKETING UPDATE
Caldwell updated the board on her work in the last several weeks by sharing metrics for social media platforms and highlighting earned-media coverage, promotional campaigns and the government-sponsored “Rangely Review.” The town spent an as-yet-undisclosed amount of money on a full-page advertisement in USA Today and three videos produced by Align Multimedia to promote OHV trails, remote work in Rangely and the ROAR OHV event. She also showed new reusable bags for sale at the price of $0.50 per bag. Half of proceeds raised through bag purchases go back to the town, the other half will go toward the Hometown Heroes project.
TOWN MANAGER UPDATE
Town Manager Lisa Piering updated the board about stalled efforts to partner with Rio Blanco County by piggybacking off their license for 911 dispatch software “Central Square.” She said the county added $8K in additional costs that would fall on the town, making the deal cost-prohibitive. Piering said she attended a recent meeting with the Western 911 board and asked them to commit to a capital expenditure and possible ongoing dollar amount to fund dispatch.
Piering encouraged the town to support a study about nuclear energy coming in to replace coal-fired power generation. The study is being supported by Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC) in partnership with Colorado Mesa University and Colorado School of Mines with a total project cost of $190,000. During the meeting the board approved a letter of support for AGNC’s efforts. Other items noted in the update included:
– Dedication of the garden at White River Village where Piering said residents have been growing everything from watermelon to corn to tomatoes.
– Interest in/updates on how the Town of Rangely could become a certified government through History Colorado, and pros/cons for businesses to register buildings as historic locations.
– Recent uptick in complaints about mosquito bites and the town’s response, including increased fogging efforts by town staff and plans to conduct another aerial insecticide spray before Sept. 5.
– Discussion about the possibility of Rangely being a Ride the Rockies location in future years.
NEW BUSINESS
Board discussion around new business focused on a grant application for the proposed Cogency Solar project. After back and forth between board and staff members, the board approved e-submission of an application for a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) energy impact grant up to $1 million for the Cogency Solar project. The town was previously awarded the grant but Piering said they were unaware of a requirement for a 50% match in funding. She said the total amount required from the town to match has decreased from what was originally required, noting that the town secured additional grant funding to cover the match requirement for the DOLA grant.
The board asked questions about the project, which has faced uncertainty caused by delays in funding challenges and lack of adequate details about scope of work from Cogency, according to some board members. Piering said given all the time she and other Town staff have put into the project, it needs to move forward soon, “We are now to the point that if it doesn’t happen then we will move on and there’s nothing we can do about it because we won’t be able to move forward with the federal grants unless we have their commitment as well,” she said, noting the timeline of about one month.
The board also approved:
– Another application to DOLA for the Half Turn waterline replacement project.
– The June 2023 financial summary
– Resolution 2023-04 joining Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc. and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation in warning of an impending U.S. Energy Crisis.
By Lucas Turner
